UNfortunate but not surprising. McDonnell said long ago that he would likely support a governor, because he believes it is important to have executive experience.
I always presumed he was holding out because he was partial to Rick Perry, and now with Perry gone, Romney was the only governor left.
Some call this “establishment”, and in it’s non-negative form I guess that’s what it is — the people who have worked personally with Mitt Romney don’t have the same feelings about him as those who haven’t. (Kind of the opposite of the Gingrich thing, with his biggest critics coming from the ranks of people who worked closely with him).
I had this discussion with Bill Bolling once (he endorsed Romney in 2008 and 2012) and it was the same thing. He knew ROmney personally, had hung with him and his family, and was comfortable with the guy. Apparently Romney is likeable personally, and that seems important to some people.
I’m dissappointed, but I won’t hold this against McDonnell. It does however suggest that he’s not as likely to get tapped as a VP in a Gingrich administration; my guess is he wasn’t on tap for that anyway, since Gingrich and McDonnell live in the same state.
McDonnell endorsed Perry right out of the box. Then Perry peaked and started his slide and McDonnell didn't say much after that. Hopefully his new endorsement will have the same effect on Romney.